How Productive Is a 60-Hour Workweek?
Managers are on a productivity push, and at least one major tech founder thinks 60-hour workweeks are the “sweet spot” for it. Is he right? Korn Ferry takes a look. Then, we spotlight which areas—and people—within organizations this new trade war is challenging the most. Plus, we examine the ways you can sincerely praise the boss—without sounding ingratiating or condescending.
1) The Return of the 60-Hour Workweek?
First, leaders were asking people to come back to the office a few days a week. Then they moved to get them to return full-time. Now, some want workers at their desks for more than 40 hours per week.
In the latest sign that leaders are over remote work, one major tech founder publicly released a memo suggesting that employees work at the office every weekday and that 60 hours weekly was the "sweet spot" for productivity. A week earlier, the CEO of a large investment bank had suggested that employees who didn’t want to come to the office full-time look for another job. Experts say what’s happening is bigger than just the pendulum swinging back in employers’ favor: Leaders in certain industries are trying to reclaim their cultures. “In some industries, putting in long hours and burning the midnight oil is a badge of honor,” says Flo Falayi, a senior client partner in the Leadership and Executive Development practice at Korn Ferry.
Here are some tips to help you make an immediate positive impact, regardless of your current role.
2) A Brutal Trade-War Test
For months it’s been talked about, and now it’s here: a trade war between the United States and multiple large trading partners.
Even if companies have spent tens of billions over the last few months stocking up on essential imported materials, experts say that getting through a protracted dispute will take a lot more than that. “It’s better to prepare late for the test than not at all, but you’ve put yourself at a significant disadvantage if you haven’t done preparation,” says supply-chain expert Seth Steinberg, a Korn Ferry senior client partner. With new tariffs proposed by the United States government going into effect this week, and other import duties potentially around the corner, supply leaders are scrambling both to contain costs and to keep up shipments of the materials their firms need for manufacturing.
What makes the current escalation of tariffs particularly problematic is how closely tied various industries are to the countries involved. China, of course, is the primary manufacturer of thousands of products marketed and sold in the US by American companies.
3) The Art of Praising Your Boss
It’s tough being a boss in 2025. Seventy-one percent of managers and leaders report increased stress from last year, and of those, four in ten have considered leaving their roles to improve their well-being, according to the 2025 DDI Global Leadership Forecast.
Bosses are particularly receptive to validation, because many of them so rarely get it. The compliment-free zone only grows as leaders, climbing the ladder, receive even fewer compliments from their own bosses.
This leaves the door wide open for team members’ praise to have an impact, says enterprise coaching expert James Arnum-White, associate client partner at Korn Ferry. The question is how to offer such praise without coming off as a phony and making things worse. Being truly genuine, and winning the boss’s favor, can help build long-term trust, experts say. “A well-timed compliment can go a long way toward building a supportive environment where you both thrive,” Arnum-White observes.
From Korn Ferry’s experts, here are a few tips on how to offer your honest flattery to the boss.
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It's amazes me everytime I hear it, that hours somehow equal productivity. It often feels like The Principles of Scientific Management is a genetic condition, rather than an industrial era attempt to make people the equivalent of oxen. These so called leaders never seem to realize that without their people, their companies would be nothing. How leaders treat their people is indicative of how they feel about their clients. Clients are more than money, workers are more than oxen, companies are more than their leaders.
Oil&Gas Operational Expert. Distribution Terminals. Pipelines. Refinery Offsite Ops: Tank Farm; Docks; LPG. Aviation Operations. Tank Truck Transportation
2 天前It is like those leaders pushing for more and more working hours do not see what happens in other geographies (like Europe) where workers work less hours and have some extra free time while improving the climate at work and people's engagement with Companies bottom line...
Operations Management | Project Management | Vendor Management | Contract Management | MBA Candidate at LSUS
2 天前It’s astonishing that we’re even considering the return of the 60-hour workweek. Haven’t we learned anything about the toll it takes on mental health, productivity, and work-life balance? It seems like a regression to outdated practices that disregard the value of well-being in the workplace. Surely, we shouldn’t be glorifying overwork as a badge of honor in today’s world.
Leadership coach focusing on the transition into larger roles, both for individuals and their teams. Also dabble in physical and emotional intelligence.
2 天前Opposite of 'productivity' not only exploitative, but tired, over stretched employees make mistakes and create so much more socio-political productivity draining drama
CEO of croit North America Inc, the Ceph Storage Company. Global SME in growing business through IT-as-a-Service Design. Mentor, coach, consultant and thought leader.
2 天前Terrible idea.